After securing two straight world championships at the last race and in the final round each time, Schumacher assumes the script will remain the same for some fortunate Top Fuel team.

ìThereís no reason to think anything will change given the Countdown to the Championship format,î he offered. ìFrankly, I hope we do have a finish like weíve hadthe last two years. Itís really terrific for the fans.î

Of course, Schumacher will be counting on his Army team to be right in the middle of the action leading up to the season finale in November. But, between now and then, thereís plenty of work to do beginning with this weekendís pre-season National Time Trials at Firebird International Raceway outside of Phoenix.

ìPre-season testing sets the table for whatís to come,î said Schumacher. ìWeíll go out to Firebird with a list of items we want to work on. Weíll shake the car down as much as we can so by the time we get to Pomona two weeks later for the season opener, weíre as prepared as weíre going to be.î

In 2007, Schumacher won a fourth straight world title and in the process set the record for most consecutive Top Fuel championships. Having banked five career crowns (he also captured the 1999 championship), heís now taking aim at Joe Amatoís record for most Top Fuel series titles.

ìAs an individual statistic, it would be great to achieve that goal,î he said. ìBut, as most people know, Iím all about the team and what we can do as a group.

Thatís what Iím most concerned with. We want the magic carpet ride to continue in ë08.î Except for a couple of new crew guys, Schumacherís team returns including his crew chief, Alan Johnson.

ìThatís huge when you can keep the same guys around every year,î Schumacher said. ìNeedless to say, having Alan back is ultra huge. Some of the guys involved with the U.S. Army have given Alan the nickname, ëDr. Nitro.í Iím not going to argue with that. Is there anyone better?

ìIím definitely excited about the forthcoming season,î he added. ìWeíre going to try our best to deliver another championship to our Soldiers. Thatís who we race for, plain and simple.î